By Azmi Haroun
Jamie 3:26 still lives to groove. And he grooves to live.
The Chicago-native, Rotterdam-based powerhouse DJ came of age during the genesis of House music in Chicago, and over the last four decades has left an indelible mark on DJ culture as a selector with some of the deepest House and Disco bags on the planet. His legendary edits, from “A Taste of Chicago,” to his “Basement Edits,” series, along with his “Dancefloor Damage” remixes are sonic weapons DJs and dancers should heed carefully…
His edit selections complement his decadent and fluid DJ style, with mind-melting sets that fuse new wave, house, funk, disco and his other assorted flavors of the day. Jamie’s DJ name and the number “3:26” pay homage to the late, great Ron Hardy and Hardy’s time at The Music Box in Chicago, honoring a dancefloor and mentor that molded Jamie. In his own right, Jamie has graced clubs and stages all over the world, always repping Chicago.
Jamie 3:26 talked to Azmi Haroun and OFF99 about where it all began, his deepest influences, sage advice from Frankie Knuckles to keep in your back pocket and what keeps him moving forward through the noise.
Buy your tickets to see Jamie 3:26 at Monkeyloft on September 12th here.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Hey Jamie, how's your summer grooving?
It's been all right, man. Recouping from the weekend. I played in Brooklyn for Soul in the Horn at Natasha Diggs' party. That was a good time.
We’re excited to have you play in Seattle. I wanted to start from your roots, studying the DJs that were in your neighborhood, watching them play, being a dancer, how did being on the other side influence your sound early on?
I admired a lot of the DJs in my neighborhood, seeing that they were cool popular guys, and I wanted to do that. But I still messed around and did things. It's kind of part of the Chicago culture, where you start off DJing neighborhood house parties, basement parties, school dances, and things like that. Especially if you do a popular person's party or something like that, that gives you some kind of status. With the way this culture was during that period, every block, every neighborhood had a DJ or someone trying to DJ or someone trying to make tracks, it was a standard part of a culture. If you graduated from grammar school, eighth grade, going into high school, that’s how most people got their first DJ set up.
Back then, Technics 1200s were a luxury, so it wasn't like you started off with top of the line gear. Most of it was either passed-down equipment or straight on turntables that were made by either Technics, Pioneer, Project One, and maybe a realistic two channel mixer, Numark or Gemini too. It was very bare bones, and a lot of these mobile DJs from my neighborhood didn't have top of the line sound systems.
Those who had access to money for better equipment, when they played certain parties, they took it to another level. These guys got the whole damn house shaking! Partying at these parties, it went from dancing to hey, I'm trying to watch them or get to that point. I'm then working my way in with these cool guys that are older than me, and they got me moving speakers and all of that. I put in work.
I paid dues, and then as time progressed, it started with the neighborhood parties, then it's the teen dances, the teen school dances, the teen clubs. That's the natural progression, and then eventually, by the time you're 17, then you go underground. There were parties everywhere, so that also kept a lot of kids off the streets. Today you can't have a party with 500 to 1000 kids, and it's just smooth and no issues. It was an outlet for a lot of us and it was just a natural progression.
I used to get nervous DJing in front of people, I kind of got over that probably about the age of 17.
When was the first time that you saw or heard someone DJing and it mesmerized you in that way?
It would have to be from the radio mixes and the radio DJs, and not just the Hot Mix Five, even though they were very influential. This college radio station WKKC was on the left end of the dial, that's where all the low wattage college radio stations were, and they were playing more underground music, and doing it in a whole nother way.
Part of being cool was if you got a boombox and were playing the mixes. Seeing that guideline from the age of 10, and then, by 11, really seeing somebody mix, and I just thought, oh, this is dope. And then it's '84, and DJ culture kind of came out in a whole different way as well, with all these parties, the hot mix DJs and the neighborhood DJs.
At the same time, seeing DJing in movies like Beat Street, and hearing songs like "Hey DJ,” by the World’s Famous Supreme Team, that instantly got me into it and wanting to mess around. It's also crazy to see how much this culture flipped and changed in, I would say, a period of like a year and a half with the city. It's not like things shifted in five to ten years. It's almost like every year and a half, it was a switch, a flip, and it just went up a level, up a level, up a level with the culture and the intensity of the parties in the scene.
You’ve talked about the importance of technology in keeping you in touch with everyone in Chicago while living in Rotterdam, being able to check in. I'm kind of curious on the DJ side, how have you embraced technology throughout your career?
I started messing around with hardware as a teenager, going over to somebody else's house and they're making tracks with a Casio keyboard, a Roland 626, a cheap machine, and that's it. Even as years progressed, and I was hanging around with Glenn Underground when he was doing stuff, Paul Johnson, I learned a lot from them just by watching.
But it was all hardware, and then I learned some things as well from my guy Cooley Mac, who's a hip hop legend here in Chicago. That was around 1991, and as time progressed, that's what I thought I needed, to make tracks, I gotta get an MPC. I gotta get this. I gotta get that. And the person who got me into the digital world was Chip-E.
This is so funny, I'm about to age myself, but I had just gotten a Gateway computer. This was my first computer, desktop and all of that. He came by and loaded up my computer with Acid Pro, it was Acid Pro Rebirth, which is pre-Reason, from Propellerhead and it had two 808s and two 303s in it, and that's how I was learning. He showed me a few things, and said, "Okay, you got to mess with it.” I owe a lot to him because he showed me and said,"Hey, this is where it's going.”
I graduated to Reason, which I've used for over 25 years now with other programs. Even with my current music partner Danou P, we have a combination of hardware and software, and because he's a keyboard player, it's a nice amount of keyboards. I have a couple of machines, and we still work out of the box as well.
It went from me doing this on a big ol desktop computer to now it's on my MacBook. I got a full studio here, there were times I had to buy tapes, buy studio time, do all of this, and now it's all straight out of the box with my computer, and it sounds good. All you need is an interface.
Do you see a downside to how technology has changed the production or DJ process at all?
It has also kind of made the decline of recording studios and that also changed the quality control of music being released, that's why it's just hundreds of thousands of songs released every day. There's no quality control. You can sit on your computer and make stuff like crazy, and the only thing you're spending is time. You're not spending money versus, back then you had to have pre-production together and all that before you went and bought studio time; you had to be on it and make things work.
These labels also had quality control, they didn't just put out anything because once again, it was an investment. So when you don't have to look for a huge return on your investment because the only thing you're spending is time, you can throw 500 tracks out and see what sticks. Instead you might be gigging all over the place from those tracks. So it's good and it's bad.
I don't care if you use software or you use hardware combination or whatever. I’m down as long as there's still some human elements in it, I am not down for AI productions. At all. No AI productions, no AI flyers. It’s trash and it’s 100% messing up the ecosystem for a lot of creators. It’s like stealing music because the machine has to get fed with something. You still have to have some kind of integrity regarding your art, music is already being devalued from streaming.
“I’m down as long as there’s still some human elements in it. I am not down for AI productions. At all. It’s stealing music because the machine has to get fed with something.”
You’re prolific and with your remix work and productions, where does your mind go first when you're remixing?
I always try to put my own stamp on it, but still be respectful of the artist's original idea, and then just add my flavor to it.
“I always try to put my own stamp on it, but still be respectful of the artist’s original idea, and then just add my flavor to it.”
It's more about the groove, and creating and finding a groove. So especially if it's an edit, because sometimes I can hear something, and it's got this energetic part. Then it goes into some wacky stuff, and it kills things. I like to cut that out and get to the nitty gritty.
I’m coming from being heavily influenced by DJs like Ron Hardy, Lil Louis, and people who took it to another level where it was more repetitive, which comes from the disco edits to the loops. There was a culture here that I feel that echoes the hip hop culture regarding breaks, but here it was about us extending and finding obscure or rare disco breaks versus funk. It's the same thing.
The only thing is, we're just jacking, versus an MC up there going over somebody just constantly looping or cutting. The edit culture most definitely was very heavy in Chicago, and that influenced me, DJs like Ron Hardy, Frankie Knuckles, Andre Hatchett, Ferris Thomas, Leonard Remix Roy, Lee Collins. All of these DJs were crazy with their edits, and that's what I used to really look forward to when I was going out to party. That's the pedigree we come from.
So in regards to if it's a remix of the original song, I try to keep at least some elements of the original song, even if I might do a rearrangement. I know some people will do their own take on a track, and it might not sound anything like the original to the point that it just sounds like a new track.
I don't knock that because just like Masters at Work and so many others, they made incredible dubs of things, but still used elements from the original thing. For me it’s just about creating some kind of structure, as well as having, in just about every remix, a live element in it. So sometimes, the percussion in the background, even if it might be a tambourine, or a wood block, or something like that, I'm playing it.
A little human element in the background. Sometimes it's live hand claps. I still try to create something that represents me and my sound, while being respectful to the artist. A lot of times, if I'm remixing something for an artist, I may ask them what it is that you're looking for? If they give me some kind of guideline, I can do my thing that way too. I enjoy bouncing feedback off of the artist or someone I'm working with.
I'm curious if you could talk a little bit about an idol or mentor in the music space, someone who has had a positive influence with you? Someone whose way of life in or out of music, or advice helped ground you.
I would have to say, besides Theo Parrish, I would say one person who gave me some life advice, and it made me feel like, oh my God, I can't believe I'm really having this conversation, was with Frank, Frankie Knuckles.
“Focus on those who get you and love you, and the rest will catch on.”
I asked him a question. I literally was like, "Hey, I got it right here. Let me just ask him this question.” He gave me one of the best answers, with much wisdom. He told me, “Focus on those who get you and love you, and the rest will catch on.”
And it's true. If you focus your energy on the right thing, it's gonna happen. I share it with a lot of younger artists as well, and tell them the same thing. You have to tell people, or they have to know that it's a whole world out here. If you're getting some love and some rhythm somewhere, focus on that. If it's your town, the next town over, wherever.
You've talked about this idea of being Chicago famous versus world famous, how are you navigating that while living in Rotterdam?
There are people who've left Chicago, and dissed or talked shit about Chicago, and I even had to check myself on that, reminding myself that wherever I am, I'm still a representative of this place. So it changed my mindset to focus on being a positive representation of the city and the culture that I come from. I've had to check so many people in Europe over the years, as soon as they hear I'm from Chicago, they say Chiraq, and talk about all that shit. I'm from Chicago, and it isn't just drill music. Being in Europe most definitely has broadened my worldview more than anything, especially when I first started traveling there. It opened me up to different sounds and certain things.
Some tracks that might drive people crazy in Chicago, it might be the opposite here. And then you just have to know, and that's anywhere. You just got to know how to cater, do your thing, and still be able to improvise a little bit and not compromise your funk. A lot of people globally think Chicago is like party central, but it's not that many clubs now. But Chicago is the only place in the world where you can go out and hear house music seven nights a week.The clubs pop harder in the fall and the winter than they do in the summer because there's so much to do outdoors.
I've been to parties during blizzards in Chicago.
You’ve mentioned the concept of many DJs thinking about speed as energy, is reading the room a lost art?
I think part of it is these stacked lineups, if you have 10 DJs to play a six-hour party, everyone's gonna come in hot. They're gonna come out the gate banging because they gotta make a statement. I understand that, but at the same time, they look at it from a marketing aspect as well, but when you have everyone just coming out playing bangers, there's no tempo or energy change. Sometimes it's not even a reset. Sometimes the DJ should reset the room, reset the vibe. I understand it because with social media “I gotta get these hype moments. I gotta have these moments,” and if you're constantly playing like that, and you play in these short sets, that’ll happen.
It's funny because there was a time I would play all night, then it was just two hour sets, and then when I got put in a situation to be a resident for a whole night, it was almost like I had to start all over again because I had to re-learn how to pace a night, keep things going.
That shift was coming out of COVID, it's like the anticipation and intensity went up. I was DJing all throughout Europe when the world started opening back up, and I just realized because especially with the younger people, they were going so hard because they had been locked up. They were going hard in every aspect, music and all other kinds of things, and that just kicked up and kicked up and kicked up. So this higher BPM — and it's different if it's like certain genres like techno, hard techno, gabber, whatever — but for house, if you're playing these records that have so much soul, and then you're speeding them up, you're literally taking the soul out of the music.
It doesn't mean that you have to play things at 90 BPM to start the night off. But you should be able to mellow it out and bring it up, not play peak-time bangers as soon as the doors open up.
Are there more barriers for folks to support underground nightlife and the DJ ecosystem nowadays?
It can be expensive to go out. Young people can't afford to spend $50 to $100 on one night out when it's cheaper to do what you were doing during or after lockdown and have a house party. The pre-party is just staying at home. All of these things are connected. The emphasis to keep a club open, or even a bar, is bar sales, so it's not even just the cover charge that can be pricey. If it is a cover charge, that's an addition.
But I am seeing, and I'm seeing it in the US, and I'm seeing it in Europe, where they're having discounts, or a pay what you can, because this is the whole community aspect of it, and that needs to come back. There needs to be some kind of appreciation to keep the youth going, like college student discounts. Get some fresh blood in, and let these people once again do what we originally went out to do, which is dance our troubles away.
On the DJ and producer side, who are a few younger DJs and producers that you're excited about right now?
My homegirl from Rotterdam, who put in a lot of work, Suzé Ijo, I love her journey. Masalo and Young Pulse. You got Jada LaReign, Ash Lauryn. It's the sister bridge.
I look at them and embrace them in a different way because I understand how it was when I was younger, and trying to hang and be around some of the older kids.
An example would be when I played a Glitterbox party last year in Ibiza. I just kind of focused on a group on the floor and asked them "Where are y'all from?” They ended up being like some DJs from Toronto, from California. I was like "Hey, let's stay in touch,” and one of them is putting in some work right now. He’s blowing up, Dennis Free, and I always believe in a lot of full circle moments.
A year later he played at Universe and Ibiza this past season, wow! Once again, it's beyond gatekeeping. I feel on one end there needs to be some kind of gatekeeper because the gate has been open, and it's a lot of people who just are pimping it out and don't really give a fuck because they're in it for the wrong reasons.
If you really care about music and culture and the party, I'm down with you, open arms. But if you're not really serious, or I can tell that you’re just a starfucker, on some superstar Hollywood stuff, I can’t embrace that.
You’re a self-admitted music history buff and still a fan who loves digging for wax and going down wormholes online. What YouTube or music wormholes have you been going down recently?
I'm crazy about classic footage of groups that really influenced me growing up, and especially footage from like the 70s to the 80s. So it's like classic P-Funk concerts. No matter if it's shitty quality or whatever, it's just like seeing that kind of stuff, all these funk bands, seeing live performances.
I'm a Soul Train fanatic, that kind of stuff. I still love that as well as history and reading books on dance music and how all these dots connect, and it's like we all were just doing it our own way in different places all over the country.
I go crazy on the Reggae/Lover’s Rock R&B covers from the 80s, and I love that on YouTube I can still discover new things or a new video about Roy Ayers, one of my favorite artists. I don't listen to house music and dance music 24/7. If I'm home, I'm listening to jazz, funk, soul, rock, something totally different.
James Brown was mentioned as your dream kind of collaborator, what is your favorite James Brown song or era?
That is so hard, but I would most definitely have to say it would be two periods: James Brown in the 70s, big mustache James Brown, and the disco James Brown.
Chicago loves James Brown, and that's affected so much of our culture, and we party to JB still to this day. That's the reason why it's a deep love for James Brown, one of my neighbors who used to babysit me would let me play her records, and she was a James Brown fanatic. I knew she liked me because she let me take some of her James Brown records home when I was first starting to DJ. Also, a lot of things that James Brown did in the 60s and the 70s, regarding Black people created a deeper connection with him than just the music. He was very outspoken and was a leader in a lot of aspects.
He was a musical genius, JB is that dude. At the same time his music affected Chicago House culture and deep house culture, it influenced hip hop culture and New York. House music culture and hip hop culture have a lot of parallels more than people might know until they really do the research.
What excites you about the future of underground dance music and DJing?
That it's still fun. Getting out of local DJ politics and focusing on why I wanted to do this, why I wanted to learn how to mix, back to the roots of it, and just playing music and having fun, helped shift my focus.
Doing this and still being excited where I'm like, oh, they're not gonna expect this shit. It's that childlike approach to it. Having fun, I can't wait to fuck them up with this. Yeah, that's the essence of it. Some people forget that or lose that but you have to remember what made you wanna learn how to do this?
“Oh, they’re not gonna expect this shit. It’s that childlike approach to it. Having fun, I can’t wait to fuck them up with this. That’s the essence of it.”
What’s a track you haven’t been able to get off your mind?
Even though it’s my group, Pressure by the Mystic Freaks. Out of all the stuff that I've done, it still just gives me the good kind of feeling of chills and it does damage!
Monkeyloft is gonna be fun. I'm really looking forward to Seattle, and I saw the flyer with Mike Grant. That's gonna be even more fun, people try to make it out like Detroit and Chicago are competitive, but we're not enemies or anything like that. Because if you Black from Chicago, due to the Great Migration, you’ve got family in Detroit and vice versa. We call it the I-94 connection. It's always been love between Chicago and Detroit, and it's gonna be love to get down with Mike. That's like a cherry on top, man.